Chapter 38: Chapter 38
Meanwhile, in another place
From a third-person perspective
If someone unfamiliar with the details had seen the gathering in one of Qohor's buildings, they might have assumed it was a meeting of the city's elite. However, the reality was starkly different. These individuals were not only the elite but also followers of a terrifying deity known as the Black Goat. What was taking place was a momentous meeting that could potentially affect not just the city but possibly the entire world.
"Are you saying the woman chosen by our God is Mobho Mott's wife?" asked a tall, youthful-looking man with streaks of gray in his hair.
"Yes, it's fortunate that Mobho is our brother, and he has willingly agreed to sacrifice his child for our God," responded a younger member of the group, clearly inexperienced.
The man with the gray hair was one of the leaders of this organization that worshipped the Black Goat.
"What do we know about our partners from other cities?"
Although it was little known, the Black Goat had followers not only in Qohor and Asshai but also across Westeros, from Yi Ti to King's Landing. Qohor, however, was the hub of this movement.
"They are all extremely pleased with the developments and are gathering back reluctantly."
"Haha, I can certainly understand why," chuckled the group leader. "When is Mobho due to arrive?"
"He should be here soon. I understand he's trying to convince his wife of the righteousness of our actions."
The elder man sneered contemptuously, "Women never change, always unable to grasp the importance of these sacrifices."
He spat out of disgust to emphasize his point but quickly composed himself, "Any word on those who might try to thwart us?"
"No reports so far, but I've ordered that any unusual activities related to our brothers or the city be reported immediately."
Clearly frustrated that things were not going exactly as planned, he clicked his tongue, "Let's hope we find these disruptors long before they can interfere."
As another member of the organization entered the building, the conversation was cut short.
"We have brought the woman!"
The two men immediately brightened up and quickly descended to the lower floor, where the Mott couple was present.
"Let's not keep our God waiting."
At the same time, POV Daeron
The breach had gone smoothly; the guards inside were neutralized rather quickly.
"Well, that was fairly easy," said Avus, shaking off the body that had just been a living person.
"Agreed, but we should move on," I said, sensing that one individual was beginning to radiate despair. "We might be running out of time."
The Arphenians merely nodded and looked at me questioningly, "So where to next?"
"We need to go to the second floor."
I felt far fewer people on the second floor than on the first.
"There are four of them."
As we stealthily made our way to the second floor, we encountered a young man pacing back and forth, exuding excitement and anticipation.
"Daeron?" Diya inquired.
"Yes, he's the enemy," I simply replied.
Diya nodded and skillfully threw her dagger at the man, who had just noticed us and fell clutching his throat where the dagger had stuck. Closing the distance, I confirmed he was a cultist.
"Do you have any last words?" I asked, knowing he would not last long in his condition.
First overwhelmed by anger, the man soon succumbed to fear and despair. He murmured his final words, "Ph-Cough-Philes..."
His life seemed to drain away as if being sucked out by something.
"Was that the Black Goat?" I wondered silently.
"Daeron, what are we waiting for?" Diya whispered.
"Ha, just pondering. Did you also notice how quickly life left that cultist?"
The Arphenians silently nodded, acknowledging the abnormality.
"But we don't have much time to ponder," Avus pointed out accurately.
"True," I agreed, simultaneously scanning the surroundings with empathy. "They still don't know about us."
"Then shall we give them a show?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself," I responded, opening the necessary door.
Several minutes earlier, in the same place
From a third-person perspective
At that moment, probably no one could have been happier than the leader of one of the Horns of the Black Goat cult. He had found the very woman who could bring their God into this world.
"What might I gain for finding this woman?" the man wondered eagerly.
"Brother, are you certain that it is indeed my wife who will bring our God into this world?" asked Mobho Mott.
"Of course! Our God has spoken, and she is the one," the man assured.
Mobho nodded joyfully in response, "Indeed."
His wife, Feylina Mott, looked apprehensively at her husband and asked, "My husband, what will happen to our child?"
"Our sacrifice in the name of God will not be forgotten," Mobho replied fanatically, kissing his wife on the cheek. "We will make another."
"Your husband speaks the truth; the coming of our God is more important than continuing our line," another man chimed in.
Feylina was clearly not pleased, but the men seemed oblivious to her discomfort. Just then, words from the deity of the cultists broke all norms of sanity:
"Have you found her?"
The two men, ecstatic, struggled to compose themselves before one of the Horns responded, "Yes, your greatness."
"And what shall we do next?"
"Bring her to the altar, for my Vessel shall soon emerge," declared the anthropomorphic Black Goat.
"As you command, my lord," they responded, moving to carry out the deity's orders.
Feylina, increasingly desperate, realized she had to act. "I cannot stay here," she decided.
But before she could escape, the Black Goat commanded, "Do not let the woman flee. Also, kill those outside this room."
The Black Goat seemed about to say more when suddenly, as if the world itself opposed these actions, he vanished from the material realm.
The cultists, enraged by the potential disruption of their plans, snarled, "Wife, what have you planned?" Mobho asked sweetly but threateningly. "Are you defying our God for a child?"
Feylina, gathering her courage yet still believing in some goodness in her husband, pleaded, "Do you truly wish to sacrifice our child to your God? You realize it is our child, our future?"
As she ended her plea, tears streaming down her face, Mobho coldly approached and hissed, "It is the will of our God, and not for you, a foolish woman, to question." He struck her across the face.
Reeling from the shock, still unable to comprehend her husband's transformation, Feylina fell silent, holding her cheek where Mobho had struck her.
"Do you understand what could happen to our child, yet still wish to give it to this monster?"
Another slap rang out, harsher than the first, briefly blinding Feylina with pain. Standing face-to-face, Mobho grabbed her by the collar and lifted her to his eye level, bellowing, "DO NOT SPEAK THAT WAY ABOUT OUR GOD!"
From a third-person perspective
Hearing such threatening and terrifying words only strengthened Mobho's wife's resolve.
"How can I escape from here?" she thought, her mind racing as she contemplated her bleak future.
"Brother Mobho, I am certain our God will appreciate your defending His honor," one of the Horns of the cult remarked, then added, "And you should rejoice that our God has deemed you worthy to bring Him into this world."
The only woman in the room desperately wanted to say she would be happier without such an honor but prudently remained silent, looking for a way to flee.
"What will happen to me?" asked the anxious mother-to-be.
The elderly man replied with a smile, "Well, if you cooperate with us, nothing bad will happen to you... Perhaps our God will grant you something magnificent. Assisting in the arrival of the Black Goat cannot go unrewarded."
"To hell with your monster!" she thought to herself. But instead of voicing her thoughts, she asked, "And where will this... arrival of the God take place?"
The elderly fanatic, grinning slyly, thought, "Well, well... has this woman finally realized the honor bestowed upon her?"
"The ceremony will occur in the Main Temple of the Black Goat," he replied cheerily.
Quickly devising her next steps, she inquired, "When will we leave?"
"At least I hope I haven't revealed my true intentions..."
Meanwhile, one of the Horns announced, "We shall leave for there right now."
"Ha... curious to see what she has planned..."
After looking at Mobho, he instructed, "Lead your wife, my brother."
Mobho nodded obediently, "As you say."
Turning to his wife with a smile, he said, "I'm glad you understand the task before us," and offered his hand. "Shall we?"
Mobho's wife had no choice but to take the hand of her "husband" and the father of her future child.
"Alright," she replied with a forced smile.
"I hope there's a chance to escape from here..." she thought, and perhaps someone heard her prayers, for a door suddenly opened, revealing three incredibly tall individuals and a boy?
One of the Horns, enraged by the sight, demanded, "Who are you?" and upon seeing blood on the newcomers, "What happened to the guards and our brothers?"
From Daeron's perspective
Upon entering, we were faced with three people; an older man with an air of leadership about him, and a couple holding hands—likely the Mott family.
"Seems the elder might be one of the leaders of this group... One of those who wore a goat mask? Or someone of lower rank?"
Hearing his question, I confirmed my suspicions were quite accurate.
"Well, they didn't want to let me join your gathering, so I had to reduce them to zero," I replied with a sarcastic smile. "My apologies for that."
The older man didn't rage or lose control but simply responded, "Ah, they were very insistent then?" Seeing my nod, he continued, "Would you mind letting us proceed?"
"How could I possibly allow you to do that?"
"What do you mean by that?" he replied, understanding what I meant and donned a goat mask.
"Heh, of course, helping with the arrival of that overgrown goat," I said, drawing my rapier.
"I'd better try to kill them all," I communicated to my allies, receiving affirmative responses.
The elder didn't have time to react as I quickly closed the distance and stabbed him through the heart. Pulling out my weapon, I turned to Mobho Mott.
"So, Mr. Mott, what will you do now?"
Mobho, smiling fearlessly and without a hint of doubt, replied, "You fool. What can you possibly do?"
I just smirked and said, "Didn't catch that," and without further resistance, I killed him.
"Why didn't he resist?" But without time to ponder, I turned my attention to the woman, who was stunned by the unfolding events.
"Well, what now?" I thought. Surprisingly, her next words were:
"Can you save me?" she pleaded.
"What?" Not just I, but my companions were also taken aback.
Realizing how odd her request sounded, she explained, "I don't want to lose my child and would like to get away from here."
I was even more shocked, having assumed the Motts were all fanatics.
"What do we do? She's telling the truth," I asked my companions.
"I think we should help her," Diya replied, supported by her parents.
Looking into the woman's eyes, I could only say, "Well, my friends have decided that we can help you."
Relief washed over Mobho's wife... or rather, his now ex-wife.
"Do you need anything from your home?" I asked, to which she just nodded. "Well, then we need to head this way."
Our trip to the Mott house went smoothly, thankfully it wasn't far. Afterward, we headed to our temporary residence.
"I hope you find your stay here trouble-free," I said as I showed her where she would be staying.
"Thank you," the woman sincerely replied.
"It's nothing," I simply responded.
From a third-person perspective
Meanwhile, at the location where one of the Horns was killed
The body, previously slain by Daeron Targaryen, began to emit an eerie black light. One of the senior members of the Black Goat cult, wearing a goat mask—the source of this light—stood nearby.
Suddenly, as the emitted aura began to condense, the body started convulsing...
Sigh... "Haah... Damn... Who knew this would be so unpleasant?" the cultist muttered.
Then, as if the space in front of the cultist was torn open, his deity appeared on the other side.
"Yours," the cultist uttered, kneeling. "Thank you for the gift you have bestowed upon me."
The Black Goat, looking displeased at the man, spoke, "Do you understand why I gave you this gift?"
"Yes, to kill the Child of Destiny and retrieve the woman," the cultist replied, maintaining his position.
"Remember that..." the deity warned.
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